House Call

Knowing how long it takes to settle into a new home, we thought this might be a good time to pay a visit to Channing Cox - the $1.1 million dormitory completed last fall and the first student housing unit to be built since 1966. The three-story brick building is down past the Thayer school, near the River Cluster, only a soccer field away from half a dozen tennis courts.

The place seemed pretty quiet, and when we began nosing around on our own we noticed some differences from a dorm like Richardson, where we lived. The stairways, although protected, are all outside and there aren't any hallways because each of the 18 four-bedroom apartments has its own entrance. Because each apartment also has its own living room, there aren't any commons rooms or lounges either, but when we poked into the basement we saw lots of study rooms with fancy desks and tables, a couple of laundry rooms, the usual storage rooms, a room full of nothing but bicycles, and a few dark, empty rooms.

We went back outside and while we were trying to decide if we wanted to knock on some stranger's door, a friendly-looking girl walked up. "Hi," we said. "Would you mind showing us your room?"

"Not at all," she replied. "My name's Renee Diao and I'm the dorm chairman." She went to unlock her door, discovered she'd forgotten her key, and excused herself to climb through the window.

Renée , who is in the Class of' 79 and has lived in the dorm since it was built, is a real Channing Cox booster. "Come in and look around. This is the living room, of course, and all that furniture comes with the place. That's the kitchen and there are four nice bedrooms with plenty of space for desks. The bathroom is the best part because the toilet, shower, and sink all have their own little room with a door. Most people do their own cooking, and I only know of two apartments where the people eat up at Thayer all the time. Some people, but not many, feel kind of isolated from the campus down here, but when friends walk over you know they really want to see you. Most of us really like it."

"Is it difficult to get to know people," we asked, "when there isn't any place to get together and you eat in your own apartments?"

"Not at all," she explained. "You borrow a lot of milk and eggs and stuff."

We noticed all the beds were made and the dishes washed and complimented her on the tidiness of the place. "Oh, no." she replied. "That's just because it's the beginning of the term."